Gold Slips to Test $4300 as China's Imports Hit Headlines, Oil Prices Drop

The PRICE of GOLD dipped on Tuesday, briefly slipping below $4300 per troy ounce before rallying as the size of China's gold bullion imports hit the headlines while the price of crude oil dropped on news of easing supply pressures from the Middle East war.

"America is back, and our country is stronger today than ever before," US President Trump told the United Nations' General Assembly in New York, musing once more whether to "annihilate" the Islamic Republic of Iran or strike a deal "that let's them rebuild and create a far better country than it was before."

The Dollar rose to new 8-week highs on its trade-weighted DXY index against the Western world's other major currencies, but held near its lowest against the Chinese Yuan since New Year 2023, down some 7.5% since Trump returned to the White House in January last year.

November futures for Brent crude meantime fell through $100 per barrel after topping that level for almost 2 weeks after media reports repeated claims that world No.1 oil exporter Saudi Arabia is about to re-open its key east-west Petroline, enabling shipments to skip the Bab al-Mandab Strait attacked by Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.

Saudi oil exports last month recovered to the highest since March, new figures say.

Rallying above $4330 in London on Tuesday afternoon to show its first daily gain in 3 sessions, the price of gold went in the same direction as crude oil 80% of the time day-to-day during the first 2 months of 2026.

That figure then sank to 26% over the 2 months following the start of US-Israeli attacks on Iran, rising to 40% over May and June and then 55% over July and August, but now dropping back to just 31% during September so far.

Both the Financial Times and Bloomberg meantime reported on Tuesday that gold bullion imports to China − the precious metal's No.1 miner, importer, private consumer and central bank buyer − have topped 1,000 tonnes so far this year, costing a record sum.

Importing $100 billion of gold across 2025 while reporting exports worth $24bn, China already imported $167bn of gold in the first 8 months of this year against gold exports of $19bn according to BullionVault analysis of China's official customs statistics.

That means "there is a cumulative surplus of supply over demand (including the People's Bank's reported activity) of 3,862 tonnes" across the past decade, says bullion-market analyst Rhona O'Connell at brokerage StoneX, comparing China's import data against the best available data for its domestic mine output and consumption.

"We can postulate that this may be in official hands but not necessarily vaulted with [central bank] the PBoC."

Also highlighting how Beijing may shuffle sovereign assets between different government agencies, "The world isn't moving away from the Dollar," says financial flows expert Brad Setser at Washington think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations.

"It is shifting its dollars from traditional reserves to state banks, pension funds, and other quasi-sovereign investors."

"Chinese gold jewellers set sights on Mideast, India," says today's South China Morning Post, reporting that as gold jewellery demand slumps in China thanks to record-high prices, "companies are seeking to leverage advanced crafting techniques" to make gold jewellery for export.

President Trump will tomorrow welcome China's President Xi to Washington, with global trade, AI security and energy flows expected to lead their agenda.